Fan Mamba tweets his way through Game 1

Kobe Bryant had been planning to accompany the Lakers to San Antonio for the first two games of their first-round playoff series with the Spurs.

But with swelling in his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon preventing him from travelling, Bryant was forced to watch NBA hoops like the rest of us: From the comfort of our couch, complaining about all the mistakes our favorite team is making and helpless to do anything about it.

Selfless person that he is, Bryant took to Twitter to provide his 2.2 million followers with a running account of Sunday’s game. He spent much of it wondering why the Lakers weren’t passing the ball inside more — which, ironically, is also common complaint when he’s playing.

“It’s great to have that commentary,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That’s fine. He’s a fan right now. He’s a fan, and you guys put a little more importance on that kind of fan. But he’s a fan. He gets excited. He wants to be a part of, and I don’t blame him. It’s good.”

Hours after the game, #mambafan was a trending on Twitter.

Bryant might not be back after commenting about how much attention his tweeting was getting. But we can only hope he continues to offer his unique perspective. Bed-ridden or not, Lakers/Spurs just isn’t the same without him.

Bryant’s tweets, in chronological order:

I like how Nash is moving so far. Both teams a lil out of rhythm to start